Research & Scholarship
My research examines how people seek, understand, and act on financial information, using human-centered design methods to develop and evaluate information visualizations and virtual education that support self-regulated learning.
Dissertation Defense
Defending April 3, 2026 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Goal Framing & Visualizations' Influence on Self-Regulated Learning of Compound Interest: An Explanatory Mixed Methods Study
My research examines how visual media (data visualizations, visual metaphors, and UI design elements) affects self-regulated learning in adult financial education.
For my dissertation, I used an explanatory mixed-methods design to investigate data visualizations in learning compound interest, with an LLM conducting follow-up participant interviews.
Research Philosophy
My 15+ years of practitioner experience in financial education ground my research in authentic contexts and real-world challenges.
Practitioner Roots
Working directly with students, families, and communities shaped my transition into research. Running needs assessments, program evaluations, and educational interventions at scale gave me a clear picture of where information design succeeds and fails in practice.
Mixed Methods
My work combines experimental designs with advanced qualitative and quantitative analysis. My dissertation introduced an AI-enabled chatbot to conduct post-intervention qualitative interviews, addressing the tension between qualitative depth and quantitative scale.
Human-Centered
I use human-centered design methods to develop and evaluate information visualizations and virtual education. Accessibility is a core design principle, not an afterthought, in both my research and instructional design work.
Beyond Finance
While grounded in financial education, the theoretical framework applies broadly to any domain requiring self-regulated learning and behavior change, including health information, sustainability, and complex personal decision-making.
Future Directions
My post-dissertation research agenda extends this work in three directions.
Goal Framing & Visual Metaphor
Building on dissertation findings to investigate how framing effects vary across learner characteristics, whether findings generalize to other financial concepts, and what long-term behavioral outcomes look like beyond immediate learning measures.
AI-Enabled Qualitative Research
Refining and validating the AI-facilitated interview methodology, defining its limits, and developing protocols for ethical design of conversational agents in empirical research practice.
Information Design for Behavior Change
Generalizing principles of how information presentation influences understanding and application across domains requiring self-regulated learning, from financial education to health information and sustainability.
Selected Publications
Pellegrini, A., & Beckler, K. (2025). Making financial education accessible through cross-sector partnership: A podcast case study. In A. Betz-Hamilton (Ed.), 2025 AFCPE Symposium Proceedings. AFCPE.
Pellegrini, A. (2024). Review: 2D visualizations to support engagement, interest, and self-regulated learning in financial education. In A. Betz-Harlton (Ed.), 2024 AFCPE Symposium Proceedings (pp. 171–189). AFCPE. ↗ PDF
Pellegrini, A. (2023). Exploratory study on use of visualizations in informal student loan borrower education. In A. Betz-Harlton (Ed.), 2023 AFCPE Symposium Proceedings (pp. 30–41). AFCPE. ↗ PDF
Pellegrini, A., Nalubega-Booker, K., & Hoyle, M. (2021). Familial roles and financial habits of international students studying in the United States. In A. Betz-Harlton (Ed.), 2021 AFCPE Symposium Proceedings (pp. 160–178). AFCPE. ↗ PDF
Pellegrini, A., & Shroyer, J. (2012). A clear path to payment. Business Officer Magazine. ↗ Article
Perry, C., Jasper, I., Pellegrini, A., Alban, K., & Huffman, W. (2012). Financial literacy on campus: Raising awareness, creating and developing programs, and improving effectiveness [White paper]. COHEAO. ↗ PDF